


Young Justice : Rough Justice

by Resplendent_Roses



Series: Young Justice : Tales of Justice [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Batfamily Feels, F/M, More Bat-Centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-05-10 04:56:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5571883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resplendent_Roses/pseuds/Resplendent_Roses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>**No Longer on Hiatus! And Edited for Improvements!**  Leaving Batman's side is the best decision that Robin has ever made. As Nightwing, he and The Team have a lot more to deal with when Batman drops a new Robin on them. Helping the new kid assimilate into the hero life shouldn't be that hard, right? </p><p>[A slight AU focussing on the missing 5 years of Young Justice.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Children's Crusade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing looks back on how his time as Robin came to an end

[Mount Justice]

[Present Day] 

Thump, thump, crack!

Wally fell backwards on the training room floor. The red lights and notification that he had lost blaring in his ears. Black Canary stood over him with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"You did better this time Wally, lasted a whole two minutes." She said, pulling him to his feet.

"Yeah yeah, I don't look before I throw punches, I know."

"Your problem is that in the field you're going too fast for anyone to anticipate you, so it works, but if you ever find yourself in an enclosed space with no room to run, you're probably going to lose your fight. Always be two steps ahead, remember?"

"Gotcha."

Black Canary pressed her hand into his shoulder. "You did a good job today. Happy birthday Wally."

"Thanks."

She smiled and returned to the others. Training was wrapping up soon. It was better than doing nothing, but they hadn’t had a mission in weeks. He was getting antsy. In fact they all were. M’gann had been making so many baked goods in her spare time that they had all gained a few pounds. It was a good cycle at least. M’gann gets bored and bakes for three weeks straight, they burn it all off on missions. They had it all figured out.

"Happy Birthday man. Eighteen, can you believe it?" Nightwing came over after defeating Superboy, who was glaring, unhappy, and on his ass five feet away.

Wally turned around to meet his best friend, "I know right, and you..." Wally trailed off when he looked up.

"Grew," Nightwing finished for him. As soon as Dick hit fourteen, his growth had spurt started, and he was already two inches taller than Wally. Wally hadn't seen him for almost 6 months, and his sixteenth birthday had only just come and gone. Shit had gone down in Gotham and Robin left short and came back tall and...blue? He was still getting used to the new uniform, not to mention the name.

"What, did you grow another inch in the time you were gone?! So not fair," he whined.

"Batman didn't like it either."

"Speaking of which, how are you doing? Six months away from the team and you come back all decked out in blue,” he asked. Dick hadn't been in contact most of the time, but by the new look and even newer attitude, Wally knew there was something that he wasn't saying. No matter what he told them, they all knew Dick had trouble with Batman. How a kid that lighthearted managed to retain his personality living with a guy like Bruce Wayne was beyond anyone in the Justice League. But now he seemed even happier than usual.

"I'm better...Bruce and I had a few more talks since the last time I called you. He wanted me by his side, right next to him, all the time. I'm trying to give us some space, because I mean obviously I was going to be my own person one day, but he just got really weird about it."

"You _are_ his son, you know. He was just…looking out for you." Wally crossed his arms.

"That's what I thought, until we took down Killer Croc in June. He started yelling at me because I ran off to deal with the guys with a bomb. A bomb, Wally. He wanted me to stay in his line of sight instead of saving lives. I've dealt with bombs before. I'm telling you he got weird. I was just getting too old to be babied. You, Roy, and Kaldur are allowed to act as free agents, but I’m not? I thought we had gotten over that...after what happened."

"I really don't know Dick, but isn't giving up Robin a little much?" Wally muttered, "You kinda blew up in his face in front of everyone."

"It's not really like that. I stuck around as Robin while I was gone, even after I quit in front of the Team. He...told me to give it up. About three months before I came back" 

"What?" Wally had to whisper, careful not to interrupt the rest of them. 

"I think it was just time. I've gotten to be too much for him to handle on his own. He can't keep absolute control over what happens to me, I was getting too independent." 

Wally frowned, "But really? Taking Robin away from you, how on earth can you forgive him for that?" 

"Believe me Wally, it was mutual. I wanted to get out as bad as he wanted me gone."

The rest of the team started to mingle and head towards them, so Wally shrugged. He knew Dick was sensitive about his relationship with his adoptive father, and the Team could only complicate the situation. Wally would know. The last time he brought _his_ family troubles to the Team, M’gann wasted all their food for the week on trying to make him feel better, Superboy threatened to –well- _threaten_ his family, Kaldur wanted to go talk to them up front, and Artemis laughed at him for a whole week. Family issues were not Team issues.

All the same, Nightwing's missing six months was nothing to ignore. 

 

[Mount Justice]

[6 months ago]

 

“You said you wanted to talk to us, Robin?” M’gann asked.

Dick’s head shot up. “Yes, we have our next mission. Harley Quinn, one of Gotham’s newer villains and right hand to the Joker has been spotted in Ethiopia alongside Talia Al Ghul, daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, and Cheshire, who we’re all familiar with. These three have been seen in different key points like Santa Prisca, Biyalia, and Metroplois. All together, but nothing has come up.”

Robin pulled up images from the computer. Harley was seen draping herself over Talia and Chesire. Artemis snorted when she saw Jade’s face as the Quinn girl got a little too handsy.

“Quinn has known connections to two members of the Injustice League, Joker and Poison Ivy. Since R’as was proven to have a personal hand in that particular Trojan Horse, and the fact that Cheshire and her father, Sportsmaster, are on his payroll, we can assume that Talia is taking action.”

“So what are we going to do about it?” Aqualad asked.

“We are going on a recon mission to Harley’s hideout at Seagate Amusement Park try and dig up info. This is strictly recon. Batman made it very clear that we were not to engage, no matter what the circumstance. If we end up being spotted, we are to pull out immediately and report. Our main objective is to find out what they're up to, and why they need a mindless sidekick of Joker's help to do it."

“She has a degree in psychology, she can’t be that useless,” Zatanna pointed out, pulling up one of Harley’s files.

Robin nodded, “True, and this is why we stay on our toes. I’m saying she’s not the world conqueror type. Don’t let the bubbly attitude throw you off, she _is_ smart,” he said. “Because Batman and I have fought Harley more than anyone else, he’s put me in charge of this mission. If you so much as see Talia, get out. Quinn and Cheshire can be dealt with, but Talia is too dangerous an enemy to take on without a specific set of skills, and we don’t have the time seeing as this is a surprise mission. There will be two teams. Team one will be Miss M, Zatanna, Superboy, and Myself. Team two will be Artemis, Aqualad, KF, and Rocket. I know this is just a Gotham Rogue’s hideout, but if Joker has outfitted it anything like his other houses, you never know. Especially since Harley has new playmates. Get as much info as you can without getting caught, and we will regroup outside the main gate. If you’re spotted, let us know immediately so we can get out before anyone else sees us. The only situation in which Batman has given us permission to act is if one of us is captured or killed. Stay sharp, and stay whelmed. We leave in the morning.”

The Team nodded. As they dispersed to either go back to their own cities or to their rooms, Wally punched Dick’s shoulder.

“OW! What?!” Dick asked. Wally led him over towards their respective rooms and away from the others.

“Nice job getting Leader!”

“Yeah, nice,” Robin scoffed. He waited until the others were out of earshot before he rubbed the back of his neck and confessed, “He didn’t actually give it to me.”

"Wait, what?" 

"Batman's off world. Everyone is, actually. But he wanted this to get checked out. He mentioned it in passing before he left so I assume this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I know they're gone but what if they come back and we haven't done anything productive? I just have this gut feeling that whatever those women are up to, we have to check it out. That's why I put such a high priority on not being seen. If we don't cause a scene, it'll be easier to deal with Batman when he gets back." 

"Bro, I know you're doing something big here, but maybe, we should tell them? You bat dudes are all about the secrecy, I know, but where has being dishonest ever gotten us before?" 

"I'm sorry Wally. If they really think Batman ordered absolute stealth, they'll take it more seriously. It's not...lying? It's bending the truth a little. Batman really will be on our asses if we mess this up." 

 

[Mount Justice]

[Present Day]

 

Wally couldn't help it. He had to keep asking. Dick was the kind of person to keep things like this to himself until he broke under the pressure. Not this time. He waited through dinner, game night, and movie time until everyone was heading to bed. Wally had phoned Barry to tell him he was staying at Justice tonight, and finally pounced on his best friend. 

"Dick," he announced, coming into Nightwing's new permanent room, "We need to talk about this more." 

"Why?" 

"Because I know you said you wanted to leave, but you're hurting and I can see it. I know you and Bruce get on each other's nerves a lot. I just want to help you through it. Being away from your family has got to be rough." 

"I do miss Alfred. But I needed this, Wally. I was brought into this life of being a hero before I knew what I was doing. I used to be like the crown jewel in Bruce's life, and now he's pushing me away. I just don't get it. I tried to stick around, I really did, but he got to be too much for me. He acts like he doesn't care so much more than he used to." 

"He still cares Dick, I know he does." 

"You don't know him like I do. He...really lost it after what happened on the mission." 

 

[Seagate Amusement Park]

[6 months ago] 

 

Harley had been waiting. Apparently Talia had tipped her off that Batman was on her trail. It went downhill from there. The stealth mission quickly turned into a fight to stay alive, especially when Harley and her men pulled out the guns. 

It happened too quickly. Artemis and Wally were back to back fighting thugs, and M’gann and Aqualad were focused on Cheshire and Talia. Superboy had about 15 guys on him alone, and Robin was covering their backs, making sure nobody was taken down.

“This is the reason the word disaster exists, for times like this.” Robin muttered.

M’gann was sent flying back into the wall, and Aqualad was doing everything he could just to stay on his feet. Talia was too much for him to take in addition to Cheshire.

Robin saw Harley take aim out of his peripheral. Not good, who was she aiming for? Wally? M’gann?

Artemis, with her back turned.

Robin leaped from his vantage point towards his teammate. Had to get her out of the way. He grabbed her shoulders, but not quick enough. Two shots echoed throughout the amusement park and the fighting stopped instantly.

“Robin!” Artemis screamed.

The entire team shifted their focus. Robin stood between Harley and Artemis, two holes in his chest.

“Harley!” Cheshire screeched, jumping on the clown, “I told you not to go for my sister you imbecile!”

“Hey hey, I got the birdie, not her, didn’t I?”

Talia grabbed Harley and Cheshire by the backs of their costumes. Smoke engulfed the immediate area, and the three of them were gone, including Talia’s ninjas. Harley’s thugs clearly weren’t that smart, however, and beating them up gave the team a good sense of stress relief.

Robin’s eyesight faded in and out. “Really not feeling the aster here,” he moaned.

Robin hit the ground. His ribs pulsated as he lay there. What hit him? One bullet? Or two? His body screamed. M’gann and Wally came running, yelling things that he couldn’t hear. All that filled his head was the pounding of his blood in his ears.

Wally was by his side before he could blink. “Hey, try and stay still, we’re gonna get you out of here. M’gann, can you move him?”

Robin felt weightless. He guessed it was because he was being lifted into the bio ship with telekinesis, but he couldn’t be sure. All he could hear was crying, and Wally’s voice.

  

[Mount Justice]

[2 weeks later]

 

"Rob? Hey, Dick, wake up. It's Wally." 

"Wally? What are you doing here?" Dick asked. 

"Me? You're not at the manor dude, you're at HQ. You've been out for days, but Batman is here. They're all here, actually. I don't really know if they're impressed or they're planning to kill us but hey, six of one half a dozen of the other with Bruce you know?" 

Dick sat up, wincing, "He's not going to be a problem. Help me into my uniform." 

Wally did as he asked, and soon the two of them were walking out to the computer, where Batman was interrogating the others. Diana and Dinah were tending to anyone who was still injured. Ollie was looking nervous standing next to Barry, it looked like both of them wanted to lighten the mood but were too scared of interrupting the angry Batman. J'onn was comforting M'gann, who was on the verge of tears. Standing stone faced, merely watching, were Arthur and Clark. Thankfully it was only the mentors and not the entire league board.  

“The only thing that this can be thought of as, is a failure,” Batman growled, “As with other stealth missions in the past, you all gave away your positions, and were captured. It was only because of their agenda that you all survived.”

Robin’s face tensed. Wally put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and stepped up between Batman and his team.

“You have something to say?” Batman asked.

“I do. After all this time you’re still treating us like we’re babies. We have brains. We can adapt to our situations. You’re the one that wants us to act independent in order to prove ourselves but when we make decisions suddenly we’re stuck back in daycare. I’m tired of it!”

“And after all this time you still seem to think that this is the Justice League and that you can do whatever you want,” Batman countered. He almost seemed disinterested, typing away at the holographic computer like Robin was a pet that was just annoying him for attention. Wally knew Rob was thinking the same thing, and when he raised his arm slightly they knew they were in for it.

Robin swiped at him, disorienting the hologram.

“Look me in the eyes, and not like I’m some sort of mild annoyance.”

Artemis backed up, even Superboy and Kaldur stepped away from their supervisor. Wally stayed immediately behind Robin, but even he had to admit that he was scared of what Batman was going to do. To Robin, and the Team. He could have just blown the single best thing any of them had ever been a part of. But Wally looked over to Clark and Diana, who were both looking at Bruce with a certain disappointment, and he then he could relax, the team wouldn't go anywhere with Diana and Clark on their side.

“I will look at you appropriately for the situation. Right now you’re acting hot-headed and arrogant in front of your teammates. This isn’t a concern, it’s a complaint, and not one I want to discuss right now.”

“You think I’m trying to show off?! If We are trying to get better at what we do and it’s hard when the best compliment we can get is ‘good job’, or ‘nice work’, when are you going to start treating us like heroes!? When are we going to be good enough for you?! We have worked so hard to get where we are, and we have done a hell of a job, especially with your ‘figure it out for yourselves’ attitude. You want us to solve our own problems but you get pissy when we make mistakes.”

“If you feel your team isn’t working up to snuff, I’d be happy to schedule you more training with Black Canary. After you’re healed of course, don’t need you getting hurt again.”

“Do _not_ patronize me. And don’t treat me like I’m still nine years old. We’ve both outgrown that.”

Wally kicked the back of Robin’s leg. That was the last straw. That was it. This was happening. 

“We will discuss this at home.”

“We’re gonna discuss it now.”

“I’m not going to let myself get lectured by teenagers who don’t know what they’re talking about. Particularly you undermining my authority in the matter to try and impress them. “

“You still think I’m showing off for them!? If I were showing off, I wouldn't be here, and I certainly wouldn't be dressed like this. But you know what, I don’t get to show off anymore, in case you forgot. Because we all remember the last time you took a trip to the circus, don’t we?”

“Ho-ly shit,” Wally breathed, "This is happening."  Artemis grabbed his hand and yanked him back. 

“When are you going to let us be a real team, and not a playdate? What do we have to do to impress you for once? When do we get to be our own people?”

“Are you talking about your team, or you? You're trying to stand up to me but with false reasoning so that I can't read your real feelings. You're using your friends and your situation as a facade for your real feelings towards me about yourself. You should try being honest with yourself before confronting someone."

Robin stopped.

“I have been trying to protect you. I’m starting to see that this isn’t right for you. You almost died tonight. The presses have already been running. I have the biggest case of child endangerment on my hands right now. I think it’s best if you-“

Robin interrupted. “ _You_ think? All you’ve been doing is trying to control me! I’m not the little orphan you took pity on anymore! And I don't hide behind anybody. We've all talked about this before. I think you just want to blame it on the scared little boy in me, standing over his dead parents so you don't have to deal with the actual issues with my team,” He ripped the mask from his face and pelted it at Batman’s chest. “I’m not your weapon, I’m not a breakable china doll, and I’m sure as hell not your puppet! You won’t let me be your partner so I’m not even sure what you have me around for anymore. You barely even treat me like your son! You’re so formal, you’re so paranoid and I’ve outgrown being pushed around like a good little soldier boy! I’m done.”

Batman stared at him.

“Robin…” M’gann said, reaching for his cape. He removed it before she got a chance, and let it fall to the ground, “You can’t keep me from finding my own way. My own destiny.”

“No, I can’t.”

Robin slowed his breathing, staring at the mask on the floor. “I’m not coming home tonight,” he said.

“I figured.”

Wally's long lasting memory of that moment was the image of Dick, barely 5'7", staring up at Bruce, who towered over him, with fire in his eyes and his fists ready for a good fight. 

 

[Mount Justice]

[Present Day]

 

Nightwing shrugged, "So Bruce grounded just me from hero work for 6 months. No war in Gotham. He kind of rigged the cave's computers to mess with Mt. Justice's news feed. He didn't think I was serious about quitting until I started sneaking out in one of my other old Flying Graysons uniform to fight thugs. Robin was based off of the suit I wore the night they died, but Nightwing came from my first show with my parents. Celebrate the life, y'know? I'm done letting my driving force be their deaths. The driving force is my hope now." 

"It sounds like you two still have issues," Wally put a hand on his friend's shoulder. 

"When don't we? He'll always see me as the little boy, and I'll always see him as the hard ass. Not much is gonna change. I'm still sixteen, so I'm kind of obligated to hang out at the manor, but I'm here on a more permanent basis than before." 

 

[Gotham City]

[Three Months Ago]

 

Dick sat cross legged in the chair in front of the Bat Computer. He typed in the mission report with his right, while his left massaged his shoulder. Another bullet wound next his previous one from Quinn made his whole chest ache again. 

"Dick, we need to talk," Bruce turned the chair to face him. 

Dick winced at a sudden pang in his shoulder. "I know. I'm not a child Bruce. This isn't that bad, I'll get over it." 

"You're hurt, and Gotham is starting to doubt us. I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already have. When you blew up on me in the cave, it took everything I had to not break down with you. People think Robin died tonight. I think it's best that he did," Bruce crossed his arms. 

Dick removed his hand from his shoulder and sat up straight. He peeled his mask off to look his adoptive father in the eyes, and replied, "I don't agree. I'm not a child, Bruce. I'm sixteen, yeah, and I'm still really young, but I grew up a lot sooner than I was supposed to the second my parents bodies hit the floor. You've been training me to do this. I'm not going to stop now. You were never this paranoid when I was nine, beating up the man who killed them." 

"You almost died tonight, Dick, if you had, that would be on me." 

"Hasn't it been great? Haven't I been enough?" 

"You were more than enough for me, Dick. You're the best son I could ever have asked for. But we've been lucky, I think, and this isn't something you should continue. It's not the right place for you." 

"You can stop me as Robin, but not as my own person, you know that right?" 

"You made that clear at Mount Justice, and I'm grateful that we got a little more time before it ended for real. If your destiny is going to catch up with you one day, you might as well start chasing it now." 

"I...don't know how to do this without you Bruce, as someone else. I think...I think I'm going back to the Team. Live at Mount Justice for a while. Find my head." 

Alfred will help you pack. 

[Mount Justice]  
[Present Day]

"He just let you go?" Wally asked, watching Dick unpack more of his things into his new room.

"Yeah. I think he knew that if he tried to stop me he'd have an even bigger mess on his hands. It was probably better to be done with it than try and control me, especially with Clark on my side."

"Clark? Are you serious? He stood up for you?"

"Not exactly...I didn't come to base immediately after I left."

"You stopped in Metropolis."

"I had to get someone objective. A new opinion, to tell me that I wasn't being a vigilantism obsessed child. I trust Clark with all of my being, he's...like a second father I guess...or maybe a really wise uncle?"

"And how did that go?"

"Great. Amazing, actually. We had a great talk. He understood, he did ask me why I didn't want to just live my life as Dick Grayson instead and you know, it's not like I don't want to, but the fight is never over. It will be one day, but I've dedicated so much of my life to being Robin, to being Batman's counterpoint, to be that little speck of hope and light next to the boogie man, next to fear. And...I always thought one day..."

"You'd be the next Batman?" Wally asked, "I think about that a lot too. They're training us to BE them. I'll replace Barry one day, he's told me so. Speedy's on the outs with Ollie but you know if anything happened to him, Roy would take over in a heartbeat. And Jeez, Zatanna has already had to replace her dad."

"Clark said that too," Dick said, "And then he told me a story, about this hero on Krypton, a man who was cast away from his family, but wanted to do good, help people, bring justice. Fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves. And it inspired me. That's where I got the name, actually."

"Nightwing? I like it, it suits you," Wally said.

"He also told me that I needed a place to go home to."

"Do you live in Metropolis now?" Wally snorted.

"No, Clark made it clear he wasn't looking for a partner. I left Metropolis the next day and went back to the circus. It was fun, I did a limited time trapeze act, I actually kind of wish you guys could have seen it. That's where I picked up the uniform. It was my dad's, they gave me everything they had left of my parents."

"Wow, and then you came back here? Why didn't you just leave Dick, stay with the circus? It sounds like that's where your heart is."

"No, my heart is here. With you guys." Dick set a picture frame of his friends up on his shelf, next to his parents and Alfred and Bruce.

Wally gave him a half hug, looking at the team photo with a wide grin."It's great to have you back."


	2. A Matter of Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightwing and the Team have to face their pasts and look at things from the adult side when they get a new, younger member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and update this as frequent as possible because I already have a file full of chapter synopses for all 30 chapters, so it's all planned out, just needs to be written

[Mount Justice]   
[Present Day]

 

"Un-real," Nightwing said through his teeth, his hands tightening around the edges of the newspaper.  Wally came over, donut in hand and a face covered in powdered sugar to look at the headline. 

He squinted, commenting, "Bruce Wayne adopts street kid from crime alley? That's new. I haven't seen you in the presses in a long time. Is this some kind of throwback article? And crime alley? What's THAT all about?" 

By the time M'gann, Conner, Kaldur, Z, and Artemis came over, Dick was ready to bust a blood vessel. "Wally, that kid isn't me." 

Artemis leaned over Dick's shoulder to take a closer look. "What!? He looks just like you." 

"I _know,_ " Dick hissed.

"This has to be a mistake then, Batman would have told you if he adopted another child, right?" Kaldur took the newspaper before Nightwing could rip it in half so he and M'gann could look. 

"Who knows. You know Batman, always so secretive," Wally took another bite of donut.

Artemis put a hand on his shoulder, "Dick, I'm sure there's something reasonable going on here. I mean, we don't know if the kid is Robin or not. Maybe Bruce just got those empty nest feelings," she said.

"Uh, think before you speak," Wally gulped, handing his phone over, "The net's going crazy. Batman showed up to a drug war with a twelve year old dressed like Robin." 

"He _wouldn't_ ," Dick hissed. 

"Dick, maybe it's not like that," Zatanna said. 

"What else is it like then? Tell me, I'm dying to know!" He snapped. 

Wally pulled Zatanna aside, "Hey, it's not her fault, back off," 

"I'm sorry but none of you understand what this is to me," Dick took the phone from Wally, "That's my uniform he's wearing. Everything I ever went through after my parents died is the reason that uniform exists. And he certainly isn't a Flying Grayson." 

"We know, but don't be mad at the kid, if anything, go kick Batman's ass," Artemis crossed her arms.

"No, I'm gonna talk to the kid first. I need to think more about what to say to Bruce."

Kaldur licked his lips and spoke, "We're coming with you."

"No. Batman doesn't like metas in Gotham." 

"Then we won't go as metas, we'll go as your friends," M'gann offered, "You can talk to your family by yourself, but you shouldn't be alone for this." 

"He's gonna be pissed if he sees you. He doesn't know that I kinda let the cat out of the bag about our identities." 

"We'll stay low then," Conner told him. 

"Alright, let's do it." 

 

[Gotham City]  
[3 days later]

 

"I hate planes," Conner announced, stepping down onto the ground again after their flight. Kaldur nodded in agreement, happy to be back on land.

"We know. You told us. Every ten minutes," Wally groaned. 

Dick led the group through the airport, wary of anyone and everyone that could see him. He just hoped the paparazzi hadn't managed to track him down. When Wally suggested a cab to Wayne manor, Dick immediately shut him down, pulling them all in the opposite direction towards a safe house he knew about. It was almost an hour when they finally noticed it was getting dark. 

"Can I do a teleport now?" Zatanna asked, stopping to adjust her shoes, "You don't really want to walk all the way to downtown, do you?" 

"No no, go ahead." 

"Tropelet su ot kciD s'nosyarG efas esouh ni nwotnowd mahtoG!" She whispered, hurrying her friends into a nearby alley way. The next thing they knew they were in Dick's living room. It was...surprisingly small. 

"Dude, aren't you a millionaire?" Conner asked, looking around. 

"Uh, that would be my dad, not me," Nightwing rubbed the back of his neck, "I get checks every month, but it's nothing to shout about, really." 

"Great," Wally said, "So who gets the couch?" 

"I got it," Zatanna winked, "Dda erom moor ot siht tnemtrapa. Ho, dna kcots eht egdirf!" 

The room doubled in size, with 6 extra rooms added. 

"Wow, me like." Wally said, racing to the fridge. 

"Well don't get used to it. I'm gonna have to undo this when we leave. Expansion spells take a lot of effort and I can't hold it forever." 

"Thanks, Z." Dick walked to the hallway, where new doors were added.

"Don't mention it. Now don't we have a little birdie to find?" 

"That," Dick said, "Is my job. You guys hang out here, or go to a movie or something. I don't want to overwhelm the kid." 

"You sound like you actually care," Wally snorted. 

"I don't. But I don't have a death wish. He's not staying, so I might as well let him go down easy." 

Wally zipped into the other room and came back as Kid Flash. "Fine, but I'm going with. You haven't been to Gotham in weeks, you need someone to watch your back. And make sure the Bat doesn't find us while we rough up his sidekick."

"We're not roughing him up," Dick sighed, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his costume. "We're just going to be casual. Y'know, talk, share stories, tell him to step off."

"Jealous?" Conner asked.

"No, I'm just not in the mood. KF, let's go." Dick pulled Wally through the window and they went out into the night.

M'gann smoothed her skirt and looked towards her friends. "We'll just... wait here then?" 

~~~

"So where's our first stop? Iceburg lounge? Arkham? Gothcorp?" Wally asked, skidding to a stop on the roof of an all night grocery store. 

"Uh, no. We're heading there," Dick pointed. It was a cluster of houses that seemed perfectly normal to Wally, but he knew Dick always had something up his sleeve. "She should be awake by now. If not, we'll have to call in for her," 

"Who, your girlfriend?" Wally snorted. 

"Yes, glad you could figure that one out. And here I thought Batman was the detective," Dick rolled his eyes. They made it to the rooftop and Dick signaled for Wally to watch the roof in case of trouble. He hooked his ankles on the gutter and eased his body down until his face was right up against a second story window. He knocked. 

Wally didn't know what happened next but he heard the window slide open, and Dick cussing in surprise. 

"Dammit Barbara! That hurt!" 

"That's what you get knocking on my window in the middle of the night in full costume! What is wrong with you?! You could jeopardize everything I have set up!" 

"Sorry Babs, but I need intel." 

"In a second. What is so important that you disappear, go live out in Happy Harbor for months, and only send me a few texts a week? And what is with the costume!?" 

"Bruce kicked me out, remember? I guess I just forgot to mention that I wasn't retiring for good. Listen, we don't really have time for this. I need your help." 

"Here," She said, shoving a file into his hands, "That's everything about the kid I could find. I forgot to keep up with his whereabouts for this week, since I had no idea when you were coming, but the only big news around is this drug ring making coke right in the middle of Gotham. Try some of their places for the kid. God knows he'll need the help." 

"Babs, I don't- How did you-" 

"You call me crying that your dad told you to quit Robin, you leave to go live at Happy Harbor with your friends, and a new Robin pops up after you leave? Boy Wonder, I knew you'd be back to raise hell," She pulled her hair out of her face and adjusted her glasses.

"You're the best, Babs," Dick said, looking through what she had gathered. 

"And don't you forget it. Now go get me some answers, I'm curious too. Not like Bruce keeps me in the loop either," She pressed a kiss to his cheek and waved as he lifted himself back up to the roof. 

"What the hell was that?" Wally asked, helping him up. Dick merely smiled as Wally knelt down and let Dick climb on his back. Faster to travel that way, Wally always said. 

"That's Babs. We went to Gotham Academy together? Artemis should remember her. She's Commissioner Gordon's daughter."

"Oh, and is there a spot for her in the Batfam?" Wally asked.  

"I wish! She'd be better than any kid Bruce could pick up off the street, myself included." 

"Maybe you can get Batman to drop this kid as Robin and get Girl Wonder in the game, now, where are we going?" 

"Well I've been intercepting some data from the Batcomputer at Mt. Justice, just to see what he's up to. Drug ring is expecting a shipment tomorrow, but I have no idea if the kid would know that. They have a penthouse they're using somewhere in Central Gotham."

"Kay. Which island is that again?" 

 

"Technically it's all of them," Came a ringing in their earpieces. 

Wally tripped and had to stop himself before he accidentally flung Dick off. 

Dick hissed, "I almost got whiplash Barbara, warn a guy before you hack into the comms." 

"Relax Boy Wonder. I just called in to say you should start with New Gotham. Probably don't want to mess around on Bleake island. Or Founders and Miagani for that matter. That's where Bruce is right now." 

"Are you tracking all of us?" 

"Pretty much. How do you think he hasn't caught me yet?" 

"Fair point."

 

"If you're going birdwatching, Crime Alley is the place. That's Old Gotham by the way, Wally. I have several hits from various apartments in the area. Sightings, whispers, etcetera. Kid loves the place. Dr. Thompkins has been receiving an increasing number of patients with drug habits. All coming in for rehabilitation, recommended to her by Robin. So kid's got a thing against drugs." 

"Which is why he's going after the drug ring," Wally said. He zoomed under Pioneers Bridge and up onto the streets. 

"Exactly. I know almost everyone Dad and Bruce know, so I got in contact and asked to have a word with a few patients for my police training. Led me right to him. There's a special tag going around for sellers, and the highest concentration of people bearing the mark is in the Diamond District. I'd hit up their hideout on 45th if you don't wanna sit around Crime Alley all night waiting for him. If that doesn't work, I'm sure Z can come up with some sort of drug addict disguise for you to go undercover at Thompkins'." 

"How did you know she-" 

"I also like to consider myself a detective, Dick. That, and the motion sensors in your apartment lit up like a christmas tree." 

"Are you hacked into everything Batman has set up?!" Dick whined. Wally took a hard left and Dick almost strangled him with how tight his arms were wrapped around his neck. 

"Your blueberry cereal looked really good this morning, I have to be honest," She teased. There was a click that signaled she had left. Dick clung tighter as Wally ran up the side of a building. 

"We're here man, get off," Wally groaned, stopping on top of the next roof over, "Next time, bring the bike." 

"If Barbara knows what I had for breakfast, then Bruce knows too. It would take hours to do a bug sweep that I could feel confident in. Bats is too good," Dick climbed off of Wally's back. He crouched and scanned the skyline for movement while Wally refueled. 

"You are so heavy, you know that?" Wally shoved a granola bar in his mouth. 

"Shut up, I see something," Dick whispered, "It's him, hide." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Uh, the cape is bright yellow, I'm pretty sure." Dick crouched down next to the air conditioning system and watched the boy grapple to the side of the roof. He saw him crawl up to the glass sun roof and look it.

"He's probably so proud he found the hideout," Wally snorted, "He's tiny." 

"He won't be proud in a second," Dick pointed to where a guard was coming up behind him, "Wait here, I'll go save his ass. We'll be over when we're done," He grappled up to the window where the guard was looking down triumphantly where he had pushed the little robin through the sun roof. Dick knocked him unconscious and surveyed the room from above. "Well, no time like the present," Dick huffed. He threw the guard down through the window. Thankfully the kid was at least smart enough to roll out of the way. He dropped in amidst the confusion with a smile, "Come on now boys, I know I'm not the guy you were expecting, but let's be reasonable. Besides, If you have some decency and explain yourselves, I won't have to kick your teeth in." 

"Okay pretty boy, don't get fresh. It ain't us trespassing here anyways," one of them pointed straight to the kid, who was still on his ass. 

His little head snapped up at those words and looked between Nightwing and the guys, "Hey! I know what you're up to, anyone can see this is a coke lab!" 

"And where is this coke, exactly?" the same man retorted. 

"Well I-" 

Nightwing sighed deeply and threw a wad of cash at the guy, "That's for the window. I just came here to get the kid. We'll be going now, gentlemen." He grabbed the kid's arm and pulled him back out through the window and onto the next roof where Wally was waiting. He struggled right up until Dick let him go and he tumbled onto his ass for a second time. 

He scowled at the two of them and spoke, "I don't know who you think you are but I had that under control!

"Oh yeah, those dealers seemed real scared," Nightwing crossed his arms, "You can't bust somebody for possession if they don't have the goods kid, and before you get snippy with me, their coke wasn't supposed to arrive until tomorrow. Not tonight. So you can go home to Bruce and tell him they've relocated, because there goes their moving van now." 

Robin looked over the side of the building and frowned, "Wait, did you say Bruce?" 

"I did. Who exactly do you think you're talking to?" 

"Uh....?"

Wally cackled off to the side. Wasn't every day someone DIDN'T know who Dick was. 

"The name's Dick Grayson." 

"Oh...." 

"Ah, there it is," Wally sighed. 

"So you realize the deep shit you're in now?" Dick asked, hands on his hips. 

A voice came from the shadows behind him, "Do you?" 

"Bruce." 

"And this is the part where I talk to the kid and pretend nothing is happening," Wally said. He put his hands on the boy's shoulders and pulled him over to the side for a talk. They slid into a conversation about how well insulated their suits were in the bellow zero Gotham weather. 

"I wasn't expecting you," Bruce said, "You can always call you know," 

Dick scoffed, "Likewise."

"What do you want, Nightwing?"

Dick stared at his mentor, "I want to talk to you. I think we left a lot of things unsaid. And you kind of own me an explanation. You said I couldn't be Robin anymore because you couldn't handle the responsibility of a child vigilante. You said it was for my own good. And right in the middle of my cereal, I get a newspaper that says there's a new boy that's been adopted by Bruce Wayne. It was kind of a kick to the gut, having to find out from a piece of paper that I have a little brother now. Does being a hypocrite feel good? I don't think I've ever really tried it. The man who said he couldn't handle the responsibility of putting a child in danger picks up a kid from crime alley and adopts him?! Makes him Robin!?" 

"And how did you figure me adopting a boy automatically meant there was a new Robin?" 

"Good lord Bruce, look where we are!! He's right there! If you had just adopted him, I would've at least got a phone call, but you've been avoiding me! How many times has Alfred had to keep me busy until you could sneak out?" 

"Dick I-" 

"I have a right to know why. And you better choose what you're going to say carefully because this is going to affect our relationship forever, so you better not fuck it up, Bruce." 

"Is it always like this between them?" Robin whispered to Wally. 

"Yeah, pretty much." 

Bruce closed his eyes, "It's not an easy thing to explain," he paused, pressing his hand to his ear and speaking again, "Barbara Gordon if you're on this comms again I will tell your father what you're doing," 

"Spoil sport," Barbara hissed, clicking off. 

"Dick, it was time for you to step out on your own."

"I think pushing me out of your life wasn't the best way to tell me that. That's what you always do, Bruce, push us out. You pushed me out the door, and you just pushed Babs away too." 

"She isn't part of this." 

"She is to me. Do you even know that we're together? Barbara is the one who helped me find the runt in the first place, and stop him from getting himself killed for that matter." 

Bruce looked at Robin who looked at Wally quickly, pretending not to notice. 

Dick began again, "If you would give her a shot-" 

"This isn't about her!" 

"You're right, it's about all of us!" Dick shouted in response, "You always do this! Lie, cover things up. Give me the truth, Bruce. Why?" 

"He needed me. I didn't want him on the streets anymore, he would have gotten himself killed." 

"Bull," Dick crossed his arms, "If you didn't want him to wind up dead, this is the last position you'd put him in. I told you to give me the truth." 

"Batman needs a Robin, I couldn't do the job alone..." 

"I said I wanted the truth, Bruce!" Dick demanded. 

"Fine!" Bruce hollered, "I admit it!" He took a step back, and breathed. He calmed down and spoke softly, "I missed you. I found him in Crime Alley trying to hijack my tires. He has no family, nothing. Obviously, as you remember, it's pretty hard keeping a double life from an inquisitive kid. He was _supposed_ to be staying by my side tonight. Now it's clear he needs more training before going out. I think you two would get along. But...later. I would appreciate it if you took your friends and left." 

"Bruce I-"

"Please, Dick, get out of Gotham. We'll come to Mount Justice in a few days. Robin, say goodbye," Bruce said, pushing a button on his belt. Dick could hear the batmobile racing towards them from a mile away.

"See you later I guess," Robin said, looking up at Dick. 

"We'll see each other again, Robin, I promise," Dick ruffled his hair. 

The little Robin smiled, and waved at Wally before jumping off the roof behind Batman to get into the car. Dick could have sworn he heard a tiny squeal of excitement, and "Did you hear that? He called me Robin!" as they left. 

"Babs, you there?" Dick said. 

"Of course I am."

"Bruce said-" 

"I know. It's always good to have a comm hack everyone knows about, because then they don't expect the secret one." 

"I'll call you when I get home. I can't stay, Bruce asked us to leave."

"Fine, but you owe me dinner for keeping me up so late." 

"Deal," Dick said before signing off. Wally groaned as he let Dick ride on his back again to the apartment. 

 

[Mount Justice]  
[1 week later]

 

"Batman, 01. Robin, B13." 

The Team looked up from what they were doing and saw the two heroes materialize in front of them. Dick smiled. 

"He's so small," Artemis cooed. 

M'gann and Superboy flew up to them from the kitchen after hearing the announcement. Kaldur and Zatanna stopped their sparring. 

"This is Robin. Since he has become the newest addition to the family, he is going to be the newest addition to your team, your responsibility, as soon as I determine he's ready. So I figured I would bring him to say hello, get himself familiar with you all." Bruce nodded towards Dick in particular, and he responded in similar fashion. 

Robin was behind Batman, clinging to his cape like Dick always remembered doing himself, when he was that age. 

"Welcome to the club, kiddo," Wally said.

Robin beamed at them, and Dick felt his heart melt just a little bit. This kid was going to be his whole life, he could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. A Bitter Pill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman brings Robin in to stay with the team while the Justice League goes to space, but is everything the way it seems?

 The meet and greet that Bruce let them have was really nice. Dick had been anxious for the day when he would finally bring Robin in. They gave him the grand tour and oddly enough they even stayed for dinner. Wally could see that Dick was instantly attached. It seemed like Bruce was easing up on Dick now that he was remembering what it was like to have a little kid in the house, and ultimately Wally and the rest of the team found themselves grateful that the new kid had been brought in, because they could tell that behind the drama with Bruce, Dick was actually happier.

And then they left. The Team didn’t hear anything about them for almost two months. Dick just stopped talking about it. After weeks of nothing but complaining about Batman or praising his replacement, it all stopped. Everyone was worried about him, and yet, they couldn’t figure out exactly why. It was an awkward point in their relationship as a team, and nobody could bring themselves to question him.

Naturally the team was nothing but whispers, and Dick found himself with random treats or new video games placed on his bed, or an extra blanket on him when he woke up in the morning. It wasn’t helping that Dick had been getting antsy and decided to set up shop in Bludhaven to get some new action. They were hardly seeing him except for missions now even though he still lived at the mountain part time. Bludhaven seemed to be reserved for when there were ‘dry periods’ where the team didn’t have any major threats for a while. Dick didn’t do well without some action so he skipped off to Gotham’s sister city to beat up crime lords for a while until the team got new leads. In the past week, Red Tornado had told them to stay at the mountain while the Justice League went off world in case something happened. It helped that it was summer break and everyone could stay for longer periods of time.

 

Artemis left her room in search of coffee. She grabbed her mug and started up the machine when she noticed Wally and Zatanna whispering together at the breakfast table.

“You guys are up already?” Artemis asked, taking her coffee and going to sit with them.

“Yeah,” Wally sighed.

“What’s up?” She asked, noticing their down expressions.

“We’re concerned for Dick,” Zatanna explained, “He hasn’t said a single word about Batman or Robin since they left. I haven’t even heard him speak to Alfred. “

“Who knows what Batman is doing,” Artemis said, shaking her head.

“Not just that. What’s with the sudden move to Bludhaven of all places?” Zatanna asked, “Crime there is worse than Gotham, and Batman and Robin barely have a grip on it, and there’s two of them.”

“He needs the challenge,” Kaldur said, joining them, “Dick is at a point where he finds himself unable to face Gotham, but not willing to sit here and do nothing. There’s no crime in Happy Harbor that the police can’t handle. Bludhaven doesn’t have a Batman to watch over them and Dick wants to prove himself in the best way he knows how.”

“All the same, he seems upset. Being replaced, moving to a new city where he knows absolutely no one. He’s completely alone in Bludhaven. We should do something for him, a game day, or lets all go out to the movies.” Zatanna suggested.

“It will have to wait,” Kaldur said, “I’ve received word that a League member is going to come and brief us about their mission to space.”

“Batman?” Wally asked.

“I don’t know. They said later today, so I assume it will be whoever is available at that time,” Kaldur replied. He looked to Zatanna and said, “I agree that we need something to lift our spirits. Especially Nightwing. He needs to know that he is still with family even when he is away from home, that we are here for him.”

Zatanna nodded and wrote down her plans, with the others making casual suggestions as they came out of their rooms until Dick himself finally got out of bed.

“What’s on the menu for today?” he asked, coming to the group with his cereal.

Zatanna hid the list immediately, zapping it back to her room, and she said the first thing that came to mind. “Sparring! It’s a good day for training, don’t you think? We need to be on our toes for when the League leaves.”

Kaldur retold Dick the message he had received from the League and then they all got suited up and ready to spar.

 

The training went about as good as training could these days. Everyone knew Dick was distracted and anxious, waiting for the other shoe to drop after all this silence, as if the next call he’d get from his family was a ‘never speak to us again’ and yet he was still concentrated enough to knock Wally on his ass every time they sparred.

“Seriously, can I get a new partner?” Wally groaned, getting back on his feet, “You can kick my ass harder than that. You’re not even trying!”

Dick shrugged and traded places with Kaldur, who was sparring with M’gann. She smiled and took her stance, but before they could start, the zeta tube came to life.

“Batman, 02. Robin, B13,” It announced. Dick gave a sigh of relief. The pair stepped out and made their way to the computer, with Batman giving a nod to Dick and Robin waving at Wally.

“What brings you?” Kaldur asked, following them, “The League mission?”

“Yes. The Justice League has to diffuse a civil war that could potentially affect the earth. I have a…difficult question to ask of you and the team.”

“Difficult?” Superboy asked.

“I’m going to need you to watch the planet while we’re gone, but you’ve done that for us before, so I assume there will be no problems. But I also need you to watch him.” Batman said, nodding towards Robin.

“We’d love to,” M’gann said.

“Your difficult question is a babysitting job? How much of a hassle can this little bird be?,” Wally asked, fist bumping Robin and ruffling his hair.

"You'd be surprised. I want him to try working as part of a group. As the Justice League is starting to deal with more and more threats, I don’t want to leave him in Gotham alone. Especially with his reckless behavior.”

“Hey!” Robin said, “That was one time!”

“One time that could have killed you,” Bruce snapped, “He needs to continue his training before he goes anywhere, and I know that he’s going to find a way to give Alfred the slip and go out by himself, so I’d rather he stay with you where you can watch him when he decides to steal Two-Face’s car and almost run it off of a cliff.”

“Okay, so two times.” Robin admitted.

Dick smiled, “Like M’gann said, we’d love to have him.”

“Good, I expect you to keep up his regular training regimen. You probably still know it by heart I'm sure. Under no circumstances is he allowed out without at least two of you to watch him. ” Batman said, finishing up the files he was downloading off the computer, “You have all your things? Toothbrush, phone?” he asked the kid.

“Yeah, Alfred made sure I had everything. We checked like four times.” He said. Dick just now noticed the backpack that was on under his cape.

“Wait, you’re leaving him here now?” Dick asked.

“Yes. I’ll be back within the month, hopefully. His bedtime is 10, in case he tries to tell you otherwise. Be good.” He added to Robin.

“Yes Sir,” Robin said, giving a mocking salute.

Batman sighed and went back to the tube, most likely headed for the watchtower.

“Finally,” Robin huffed, turning towards Dick and Wally. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself. Want to tell us what that was all about?” Wally asked.

“So I got into a minor confrontation with Two-Face, big whoop,” Robin sighed. “He’s been bustin’ me about it all week. Not like he doesn't know WHY I stole the freak's car.”

“Hey, I know it gets on your nerves, it certainly got on mine, but he cares about you,” Dick said, “He wants to make sure you don’t get yourself killed. You’re not just some kid to him, you’re part of the family now. How old are you anyways?”

“I’m 13, thank you,” Robin said, “You guys got sticks up your butts like him or can I give you my real name? Robin’s nice and all but it’s a title now I guess, since there’s two of us.”

“Shoot kiddo,” Dick said, taking his backpack.

“Jason.”

“Nice. Welcome to the team, Jason,” Dick said, “I’ll take you to the spare room, sound good? We’re going to finish our training and you’re welcome to join.”

“Based on what Batman said, I believe he should,” Kaldur said, “He needs team building, and we just upgraded the systems.”

“Great, I’ll get him settled while you guys set it up,” Dick offered, hurrying the kid towards the sleeping quarters, the pair of them laughing about some joke.

The rest of them stood in silence until they were gone.

“Okay, I’m going to be the first to say this,” Wally began. “That was weird, and spectacularly timed, and very, very confusing. Anyone? Thoughts?”

“You’re right,” Zatanna confirmed, “It can’t be coincidence that we were just talking about this over coffee and now it’s suddenly fixed. Nothing for a long time and suddenly Dick just picks right back up where he left off with this new Robin. We knew this League mission was coming up but with little to no communication from Batman I'm surprised we were still on for watching the boy.”

“Batman is full of surprises. Almost too full.” Conner crossed his arms.

“I don’t trust him,” Artemis added, “He’s up to something.”

Wally rubbed his neck, “I'm gonna make a call, we're definitely not in the loop here. Stall them for me?”

Artemis and Zatanna nodded in unison and went to grab the boys, only to find Dick alone.

“Where’d he go?” Artemis asked.

“Bathroom, why?” Dick asked.

Z and Artemis exchanged looks and Dick looked between them, confused.

 

Wally dialed the number that Dick had given him after their last trip to Gotham, and he urged the phone to ring faster.

“Barbara Gordon,” The stern voice answered.

“Hey Babs, it’s Wally. Can I call you Babs? Oh uh, sorry, I’m Dick’s friend, we met earlier?”

“Hi Wally, what can I do for you? The idiot didn’t get himself hurt, did he?”

“No no, nothing like that. He actually doesn’t know I’m talking to you right now, but I need help. Can you update me on what’s been happening in Gotham lately? Dick hasn’t been able to contact anyone and he hasn’t spoken a single word about Bruce or Jason since they stopped by that one time.”

“Dick didn’t tell you?” Barbara asked. She muttered something about chewing him out later, awaiting Wally’s response.

“No? tell me what?”

“Bruce told him not to contact them.”

“What?!” Wally screeched at the phone, “Why?!”

“You really want to know?” Barbara asked.

“Yes I want to know! He’s my best friend and he kept this from me, I could have done something. I – shit, what did Bruce say?”

“He actually put an embargo on everyone, to be honest,” Barbara said, “I even got an extra lashing for not officially being a crime fighter. Jason has….issues. And Bruce wanted to ease him into this, which I guess means talk to nobody and then slowly add people in until he could handle it.”

“Jason seemed like he wanted nothing but to get away,” Wally commented.

“I know, which is what I got the extra lashing for. Bruce doesn’t like a person telling him what to do, that’s for sure. Jason’s been in therapy with Leslie Thompkins since Bruce adopted him.”

“What for?”

"Well he picked Jason up in Crime Alley after all. Unfortunately it's the routine stuff for the average kid who lives there. Watched his Mom overdose on pain pills and die in the bathtub. Abusive father that got gunned down working for Two-Face it looks like. His body turned up in the river a couple months ago.”

“Jesus shit. And Bruce seriously though the solution was keeping him AWAY from Dick?“

"You really think Dick didn't have a way to talk to Jason without Bruce knowing? Either Bruce is too trusting to look through Jason's stuff, or he does and doesn’t say anything. Actually, Gotham has been quieter than usual lately, and Alfred is more than capable of handling Jason, contrary to what Bruce says, since Alfie is the only one the kid really listens to. Jason is a little spitfire, and told Bruce that if he didn't get to come visit Dick and his friends that he was going to make a point of sneaking out as often as possible. And I'm sure Bruce caved instead of wanting to deal with that garbage fire situation.”

 

"How on earth do you know all this?" Wally asked. 

“Of course I know, Dick couldn’t hide that from me. I've got eyes everywhere. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah, me too,” Wally muttered, “Well I can tell the team it’s a false alarm at least. Dick just looked so upset lately I thought something had happened.”

“Well I’m glad that got cleared up, I’m going to go back to my work, if you don’t mind,” Barbara said, hanging up.

Wally exited his stall to see a face standing right in his way. 

Jason frowned but softened when he saw the worry on Wally’s face, “I get upset really easy, so I’m sorry for jumping you. Batman doesn’t think I’m ready to be part of a team, so he didn’t want me getting my hopes up by talking to any of you, or anyone else for that matter. But Dick has been really nice. He talks to me until I fall asleep and he makes sure I like living at the manor. He visits every now and then when Babs drags him to Gotham for dinner. Don’t be mad at him for not saying anything. Please?”

“No, I won’t.” Wally told him, “He didn’t want you to get in trouble. I can already tell that he’s very protective of you. You were a quick pair if I ever saw one,” Wally said, “How about I take you back to that team training, huh?”

“Yeah,” Jason agreed.

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Wallly said. “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to talk to Dick.”

“Me too,” Jason agreed, “He’s really helped me adjust to this.”

As Wally led him back to the others, he felt a burning question enter his mind.

“Did you want to become Robin?” He finally asked.

“Hell yeah I did,” Jason beamed, “Putting on that costume for the first time was the best day of my life. I love it. I feel like I’m doing something. I think Babs told you I hang around Crime Alley a lot, well, it’s cause I know people there. As Jason, nobody thought twice about me, and I couldn’t do much to help them. But as Robin, people listen. It’s weird. I’ve seen 5 of my neighbors quit drugs and take the jobs at Wayne enterprises that I offer them, with Bruce’s permission of course, just because I stopped by to talk to them and get them medical attention if they OD’d. “

“How did he…well, find you, I guess?” Wally asked.

“Oh that? Ha! You should have seen the look on his face! I met him as Batman first.”

“What happened?”

“I wanted to eat that week, y’know? So I figured I’d boost a set of wheels and sell the tires for cash and hey, I’d be set. I climb out my window and lo and behold, an act of divine providence has placed the most expensive set of wheels outside my house. I got 3 wheels off before he came back and found me.”

“He caught you stealing the tires off of the batmobile?!” Wally laughed, “I can’t believe it!”

“He tried to put me in a home, but I was too stubborn, plus the lady that was running the place was running a secret crime syndicate of kids, so I helped him bust ‘em and he kind of decided to just take me home with him.”

“Unreal,” Wally said.

“I know, I feel like it’s a big dream sometimes,” Jason admitted.

“Well, hopefully training with us will show you that this is reality, seeing as it hurts so bad you’d have to wake up if it were a dream.”

“Ha! Can’t be worse than the system Bruce has at home.”

“You’re probably right.”

Dick, Artemis, and Zatanna were waiting for them as they walked back. Wally gave the girls the signal that everything was okay and they headed out towards the training room.

 

30 minutes into the training and Dick wanted to tear his hair out.

Robin was hanging upside down from one of his own grappling hooks sassing Artemis about a shot she missed.

“Look you little brat, I would have had the shot if you didn’t jump in the way!” She said, firing arrows in the direction of the fake Poison Ivy while also trying to get him down.

“You guys really don’t talk to each other when you fight, how am I supposed to know when you’re going to shoot stuff!” Jason argued.

“Maybe when you see me draw the arrow!” Artemis fired back.

“Will you two shut up?!” Dick yelled, launching a batarang and cutting him down, “Jason, you keep focusing on your part and stop worrying about everyone else. M’gann, you wanna fire up the telepathic link now?”

“Little busy!” she shrieked from across the room as Conner came flying at her after a nasty hit from the fake Bane. Dick was quick to help them out, and M’gann linked their minds.

 _Everyone hear me?_ She asked. Dick went to say something but he noticed that Robin was no longer at his side, and instead was bracing himself against the wall, visibly upset, and looking like he was about to be sick.

“M’gann cancel the connection!” Dick ordered, and he felt her presence leave his mind. “Computer! Safety override! Abort mission!”

“Dick what’s-“ Wally began, and then Jason threw up. Dick ran and crashed down onto his knees to get a look at Jason’s face.

“Jaybird, what happened?” Dick asked, removing the mask and opening up Jason’s eyes.

“Never had that happen before, sorry,” He admitted, “Bruce has been trying to train me against mental manipulation, and I tried to let her in but I guess the safety switch triggered.”

“Is he okay?” M’gann asked, keeping her distance, “I didn’t go through anything, I promise!”

“He’s fine. Bad case of vertigo is what it is. He’s just got to get used to it,” Dick reassured her.

Jason sunk down and sat criss cross with his eyes clamped shut. “He’s right, how could I think I was ready for this?”

“Jason,” Dick laughed, “It’s your first day! You should have seen us when we first started the team thing. Half of us couldn’t even bear to be in the same room most of the time. Bruce drilled that partners thing into you and now working with more than one other person gets a little hectic, am I right?”

Jason nodded.

“You are a natural, that’s for sure,” Artemis said, sitting down next to him, “You already have that snarky Bat-Tone to go with it.”

“Sorry for getting upset about the shot,” Jason told her.

“No big,” She replied.

M’gann sat down on his other side and flashed a nervous smile.

“Sorry for making you sick.”

“Not your fault,” Jason said. When M’gann’s expression failed to change, he offered a different statement. “I think you’re pretty cool, I like your outfit. Are you really from Mars?”

“Mm hmm!” She replied.

“What’s this ‘Jaybird’ stuff?” Wally asked, elbowing Dick.

“I think it’s cute,” Dick said, “and it fits him.”

Jason stuck his tongue out.

A communicator beeped and Dick was quick to answer.

“Hey Barbara, what is it?” He asked.

There was muffled noise on the other end of the phone, and Jason looked up at Dick with a questioning gaze.

“Okay, I understand. No, I’m not too busy. Jaybird’s here, so I’d have to ask Wally if he can handle so much sass in such a tiny body for a few days but other than that I’m free. What’s his play? Alright, I’ll check it out. Nightwing out.”

“What is it?” Kaldur asked while Dick stowed the communicator and removed his mask.

“I gotta leave for a few days. Blockbuster has been buying off cops in Bludhaven and taking over the other syndicates. He’s using my city to try and get to Gotham, Metropolis, and every other crime hub in the area. To top it off, I’ve got a new vigilante to deal with. Babs says she’s trying to take on the Tarantula name and she’s been brutalizing some petty criminals. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Can I come?” Jason asked, “I just got here and you’re leaving.”

Dick knelt down and poked him, “I gotta keep you safe, and preferably out of the action, little man. The ‘Haven is no place for little birds like you. I have a hard time watching my own ass out there, much less watching yours.”

“You want us to come then?” Conner offered.

“No. Bludhaven’s my city now, and with the Justice League off world, if something happens they’re going to need all of you out there to help. If Blockbuster wasn’t causing as much trouble, I’d fridge him until Batman got back, but coupled with this new Tarantula, it’s an accident waiting to happen. I can handle them, you guys watch for the major stuff. I’m sure loads of villains are dying to take advantage of the League’s absence. Take care of my little bro and I’ll be back soon.” Dick said.

Jason didn’t look convinced and Dick really didn’t want to leave at such a crucial time for Jason, but he had to.

“I’ll be back soon,” He reiterated, putting a caring hand on Jason’s shoulder, “You’ll see, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Better be,” Jason said.

Dick went to his room to pack, and said his goodbyes, and told Jason once more that a few days wasn’t forever, and promised a sparring match when he returned.

And off to Bludhaven he went.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So wow this took way to long lol  
> Join me some time in the future for Dick's adventures in Bludhaven and Jason's adventures as a member of Young Justice same bat-time, same bat-channel!


	4. Slow Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Barbara shows up to the cave and says Dick's in trouble and then mass breakouts occur at both Arkham and Belle Reve, it's up to Batgirl to take the stage and save him when the Team's hands are full.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before your read, this is the chapter that the Rape/Non Con warning on this work is for. It's largely based of of Nightwing issues #93-95. It's only a kind of short mention, but I wanted people to know anyways. 
> 
> Also, Nightwing 93-5 technically occur during Tim's run as Robin and Barbara's run as Oracle, but since the sequel to this work (featuring Tim and Oracle) is already jam-packed with enough drama, I decided to put it here instead.

Jason waited for days to hear from Dick. He was keeping himself busy with daily calls to Alfred and training with Dick’s team, but he was growing anxious, and everyone could see it.

“Jason, why don’t you take a break?” M’gann asked, finding him at the punching bag well after everyone had left. Jason got two more hits in and noticed that she wasn’t leaving, so he obliged.

“How long does Batman make you train?” She asked, walking him to the dining room after he had changed.

“I don’t know. It seems like it’s all I do. I knew nothing about actually fighting people when he adopted me, but he’s turned me into a living weapon in 6 months. Dick says he really cares about me, and I agree, but he’s so…cold.”

“He has a lot of issues,” Wally said, joining them. “We saved you some lasagna.”

“Cool,” Jason sighed, taking his seat, where a plate of food was waiting.

Wally and M’gann watched him eat his food with disinterest.

“I can make you something else if you want?” M’gann offered, “If it’s not to your liking.”

“No, this is great, thank you,” Jason said. He ate a few more bites and put his fork down. “Have you heard from Dick?”

“Nothing,” Wally said, “I’m sorry kiddo but he’s just not answering us. We thought about storming his house in Bludhaven but Kaldur said we’re still on high alert here. We-“

Wally was interrupted by the announcement of a guest.

“Barbara Gordon, A14, Guest.”

“Babs?” Wally asked.

The three of them left the table and rushed to the main room, where the Zeta tube was powering down and a tired, haggard, girl stood in front of them. Her sleeve was ripped and her mascara running.

“I’m sorry but I didn’t know where else to go,” She said, “Can I have access to your computer to try and contact Dick?”

“Holy shit what happened to you?” Wally asked, going to support her before she collapsed.

“Super villain jumped us on our dinner date,” she explained, “That’s the last time I go to Bludhaven.”

“I’ll get you some new clothes,” M’gann said, flying back to her room.

“You’re serious?” Wally asked, leading her to the computer.

Barbara groaned, holding her shoulder, “The new Tarantula. She knew his identity. She was working for Blockbuster and orchestrated a whole mess to screw up our date. She followed me home to Gotham and tried to kill me. I barely got a call in to Dick before he told me where the nearest Zeta Tube was. I think she went back to Bludhaven to find him after I got away.”

“Oh god Barbara.”

“Please I just need to get him on the phone, she could kill him.”

Jason stood off to the side while this was happening, unable to even say something to Barbara, who had become his other secret friend while Batman’s embargo was in place.

There was a crackle as Dick picked up the phone, “Barbara? Are you safe?”

“I’m at Mount Justice with Wally and Jason, what’s going on, are you okay?”

“Blockbuster’s dead.”

There was an eerie silence until Dick managed to speak again. “She killed him. Tarantula.”

“Where is she now? Did you capture her?” Barbara asked, sending a message to Alfred on the side.

“No she….” He trailed off.

“She what? Dick talk to me,” Barbara said, noticing the distress in his voice.

“It’s nothing. She just got away,” Dick choked out, “She’s going after Copperhead.”

“Copperhead?” Barbara asked, “Why?”

“He attacked us at her apartment, she said she was going to kill him."

“You sound like you’re seriously hurt, Dick, who can I send out to come get you?”

“Bruce,” Dick said, “Is he back yet?”

“No, he’s not, I’m sorry,” Barbara said, exchanging worried looks with Wally. If Dick needed Bruce in this kind of emotional situation, something worse must have happened than Dick was saying.

Dick groaned, and he huffed into the communicator, “Barbara, go get Alfred and bring him to Happy Harbor. Do not let him or Jason leave until I find her. She went after you on purpose, and nobody else I love is getting hurt. Blockbuster could have hired a whole plethora of other assassins that don’t know he’s dead yet.”

“Dick,” Barbara began, but Jason interrupted.

“I’ll get Alfred,” He offered.

“No.” Dick said with almost a fatherly force, “You do not leave Mount Justice until I get back. I can’t risk you, Jaybird. Who knows where she is right now or who else is planning on attacking. Wally, everyone that leaves the mountain leaves in pairs, okay? I’m not taking chances.”

“Okay Dick, I’ll grab Zatanna and we’ll go get Alfred. But when can I come get you?” he asked.

“When the mission’s over,” Dick said.

“I’m coming to get you now,” Barbara urged him, “If Blockbuster did have other assassins lined up, you’re not taking them on by yourself. And you’re certainly not going after Copperhead. You’re hurt enough already, and don’t you dare lie to me, I know you are.”

“Barbara it isn’t up for debate, I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

“And I’m not going to let you get yourself killed because you’re too stubborn to ask for backup!” She hollered.

There was a click and she punched through the hologram before her balance waivered and Wally straightened her out.

“I think you should take your own advice Babs, you’re hurt too,” Wally said, guiding her to the living room.

“Z, take Artemis and go to Wayne Manor, you’re gonna grab Alfred Pennyworth and bring him back here until the red alert is gone.” Barbara directed. Zatanna nodded and with a ‘ekat su ot enyaW ronaM’ they were gone. Wally and Jason exchanged looks, since it was Wally that was supposed to go.

M’gann brought Barbara a pair of pajamas and Dick’s laptop so that she could try and hack into the surveillance around Dick’s last known location. Jason sat down and watched every single press of a key, not leaving her side.

A puff of smoke appeared and Zatanna and Artemis were back with Alfred in tow.

“He fights tough,” Artemis commented, catching her breath, “took a lot of convincing that we weren’t trying to kidnap him.”

“My apologies, Miss. But Master Bruce and Master Jason aren’t the only ones who keep in shape you know.”

“I gathered,” Artemis huffed.

“Alfred, I’m getting into Bludhaven’s local security to see if I can try to find Dick,” Barbara said. She pulled up the link to the Batcomputer “Has Batman set anything up in Bludhaven?”

“Not that I am aware of Miss,” Alfred said, leaning over her shoulder to watch the surveillance.

 

Miles away, an old asylum and a super prison were preparing it's tenants for lights off. And old man loomed in the shadows over Belle Reve prison, while his daughter and her two companions stood at the gates of Arkham. There was a radio signal coming in, and both listened to the grim message. 

"Blockbuster is dead. Proceed with the plan as discussed." 

The man and his daughter, though in separate parts of the country, gave an order at nearly the same time, and explosions rocked the ground. 

The woman smiled, pulling her hair out of her face while her companions entered the asylum grounds to find who they were after. 

"After this beloved," she whispered to only herself, but looking at the stars, "You will see how foolish you were to refuse the Al Ghul name." 

 

Back at Mount Justice, the team was watching as Barbara Gordon hacked into the city grid and utilized any camera she could get her hands on. 

"There," M'gann said, pointing to a fuzzy orange dot in the corner. Barbara zoomed in, noticing the snake-like form hovering above something blue, and clearly incapacitated. 

“Copperhead,” Barbara hissed, “That’s it. Alfred, look after Jason.”

“Where are you going?” Artemis asked, bewildered.

“I’m going to go save my boyfriend’s dumb ‘I work alone’ ass, that’s where I’m going.” Barbara hissed, “Dick’s hurt and he can’t take Tarantula and Copperhead at the same time if it comes to that. Who knows which side she’s really on”.

“Barbara, you just got attacked! You can’t go out there!” Zatanna protested. “We can go get him, he’s our teammate,”

“No we can’t,” Conner said, running in. “A distress call came in from both Arkham and Bell Rev, massive breakouts, we need to leave _now_.”

Kaldur looked to the ground in confusion before pulling up the computer, “He’s right, villains escaping are all connected to the Injustice League, this is an emergency,” he said. “Miss Martian, Superboy, and Myself will go to Bell Rev, Artemis, Kid Flash, and Zatanna to Arkham. Get ready.”

“We have to trust that Dick can handle this Barbara,” Zatanna said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“I know, I know, but I’ll be damned if I just sit here on a computer screen and watch him get himself killed. Who knows when Deathstroke is going to show, or Deadshot. We have no idea who Blockbuster may or may not have hired and if or when any of them are going to show”.

“Then I’m coming too,” Jason demanded.

“Jason,” Barbara sighed, “Bruce would kill us if we let you get hurt,”

“You’re going, what training have you had?” Jason argued. She didn’t listen.

“Jason, you’re 13. I can’t deal with Copperhead, Tarantula, Dick, and you at the same time. What if you get hurt? You mean the world to me and Dick, and I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you too,” She said, cupping his face. “You stay here, and I’ll bring Dick back and then we’ll all go out for dinner, okay? Just the three of us.”

“I’m worried about you,” He confessed.

“I can handle myself, Jason, and I’ll have Dick to back me up when I get there. We can handle anything they throw at us.”

“Okay,” Jason said, hugging her.

“I’m sorry but what exactly do you plan on doing?” Superboy asked, “You’re hurt and they’ve got a target on your head too.”

“There’s a target Barbara Gordon, but not on Batgirl,” She told him.

“Batgirl?” Kaldur asked.

“I wanted to go with Batwoman but I guess that’s taken? We don’t really know for sure.” She turned to Alfred, “Did you bring what I asked for?”

Alfred held out the case, “Very cunning of you to hide this in the cave, Ms. Gordon, though I’m sure Master Bruce knows of it’s presence,” He said.

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t notice it’s absence when he gets back,” Barbara huffed, going to change. She came back clad in a batsuit that looked perfectly tailored to her. The yellow symbol on her chest made Jason swell with a familial pride just watching her.

Barbara looked to Wally, who nodded with a certain reluctance. She stepped into the Zeta tube, M’gann, Kaldur, and Conner entered the bioship, and Zatanna whisked Artemis and Wally off to Gotham.

Jason stood in the suddenly empty cave with Alfred at his side.

“Is this what it’s like, Alfie?” Jason asked, “One mission starts and then two more suddenly happen at just the right time to blow up in our faces?”

“Master Jason, that is about 90% of what Master Bruce tries to deal with every day, I’m afraid. Everything that could go wrong, usually goes wrong.”

“Are Dick and Barbara gonna be okay?”

“I hope so,” Alfred sighed. “But the odds aren’t in their favor, unfortunately.”

“I’m sorry Alfred,” Jason said, staring blankly at the floor.

“For what?”

As Alfred turned to question his young companion, he found himself being forced backwards and he was on his back in the blink of an eye. As he sat up he saw the bright light of the Zeta tube. All Jason heard was Alfred shouting his name before the tube took him to Bludhaven.

Alfred scrambled up and hurried to find the laptop that Barbara had been working on.

 

Barbara was grappling from building to building with her tracker, trying to find Dick. She saw an explosion of bricks in the distance and pushed herself to go faster.

Dick and the woman who had tried to kill her earlier were holding their own decently on the nearby roof, but Barbara could see that she had a wound on her arm. Copperhead’s poison. It looked like Dick had given her the antidote in time, but she was weak, not going to last very long. Barbara soared in above them, kicking Copperhead in the face with all her weight. She flipped backward with the momentum and threw herself in front of Dick.

“You wanna play? Let’s play,” she taunted, putting a protective hand behind her on Dick’s chest.

“What are you-“

“Get out of here,” she hissed, “Now.”

“You can’t take him by yourself,” Dick protested.

Barbara looked toward Tarantula, who was staring at her in bewilderment. Barbara felt a burning rage in her chest, “Oh honey, I’ll get to you in a second, but first I gotta take care of the snake man,” She snarled.

“Did you even hear what I said?! You can’t take him by yourself!” Dick said again.

“Zip it, Wing Nut!” Barbara shot back, pulling smoke bombs from her utility belt and throwing them at Copperhead’s face. She swiveled and hurried Dick to his feet to get him off of the rooftop. “Come one, hurry up,” She said, half dragging him since his feet couldn’t keep up with her. She felt a burning pain in her back as claws ripped through her suit. She bit back a yell and shoved Dick as hard as she could to get him away from the fight.

She turned around, one of Dick’s eskrima sticks in hand, and swung as hard as she could, connecting with the side of Copperhead’s jaw. He held the wound in pain and Barbara fiddled with her belt, seeing what else she might have. All she had put in it was her grapnel and some other trinkets. A few stolen batarangs that she worked her butt off to find discarded after Batman had left a fight, she had used up the smoke bombs, and her lock pick.

“Okay, uh, my wit it is,” She decided. But as Copperhead recovered and was moving toward her, a rope was flung around him, pulling him back. A utility belt went flying threw the air, and Barbara caught it, trying to see where it had come from.

“Steel wire netting! Right back pocket next to my glue bombs!” A tiny voice commanded her. Dick got to his feet and went to make sure Copperhead didn’t escape, punching him in the gut. She grabbed the tiny metal ball and flung it as hard as she could, encasing Copperhead in the net and watching as it retracted so that he couldn’t move his arms or his legs. When he hit the ground like a log, she saw Robin standing behind him, releasing the ropes.

“Gas him, quick!” he said, pointing to the utility belt, “Left pocket directly next to the clasp!”

Barbara obeyed, finding the spray. She climbed on Copperhead’s back and forced his mouth open to breathe it in, and holding him down until he went limp.

When he was sure there was no longer a threat, Dick blew up. “What the hell are you doing here?!” He hollered at Jason, “You’re supposed to be at Mount Justice!”

“I just saved your lives, didn’t I?” Jason fired back, “You’re welcome!”

“Leave him alone, Nightwing,” Barbara said, “Where’d Tarantula go?”

They finally took a step back to regain their bearings, and noticed that she was gone.

“Okay, it’s okay, we’ll get her next time,” Barbara said to Dick. She noticed him wavering, looking like he was going to pass out. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked, “Anything broken?”

Dick didn’t reply.

“Dick, you’re scaring me,” She finally said, “And Jason. Say something. Please.”

He sniffed and rubbed at his mask before he engulfed her in a hug, “I’m glad you’re okay,” He said to her, “You kicked ass.”

Jason pulled on Barbara’s cape and she invited him into the hug.

“Good work kid,” Dick sighed, taking an arm away from Barbara and putting it around him.

“Can we never do this again?” Jason asked.

Barbara snorted, “Yeah, like we’ll ever get a days rest with this job. You dream big, kid.”

Dick went silent again.

“Let’s get back,” Barbara decided, watching Dick, “Alfred’s waiting for us.”

Jason stood between them and supported them as best as he could as Dick and Barbara were both limping after the night's events. They huddled into the zeta tube and requested Mount Justice. 

Alfred was waiting worriedly as the tube fired up, and sighed a breath of relief when the 3 of them tumbled out.

“Oh thank heavens, Master Dick, are you alright?”

“Fine,” he muttered, making his way back to his room without another word.

“My lord, Miss Gordon, your back! You'll need stitches.”

Jason didn’t hear the rest of their conversation but instead watched Dick leave. He knew Barbara was in capable hands so he chose to follow his older brother.

Dick stumbled into his room, and Jason could clearly hear muffled crying.

“Dick?” he whispered, knocking and following him in.

Dick was sitting on his bed now, hugging his knees with one arm and holding his mask in his free hand.

“Dick what happened?” Jason asked cautiously.

“She killed him,” Dick whispered, his voice muffled by his arm, “I was standing right there and I let her shoot him. I could have stopped her, but he tried to have Barbara killed and I hesitated and let her shoot him.”

Jason sat down next to him, and put his head on his shoulder.

“I didn’t want him to die, I didn’t realize what I did until it was too late Jason.”

“I know you’d never want to kill anyone,” Jason said, “That’s not who you are.”

“But I stood by and let her do it,” Dick said, “I was exhausted, I couldn’t stop her,”

“Dick, it’s not your fault,” Jason urged.

“I couldn’t stop her and she-“ His breath hitched.

“She what?” Jason asked, feeling like something was more off than it should have been. He’d seen Bruce mourn accidental deaths, and Alfred had told him that sometimes not everyone could be saved. He knew that much, but he’d never seen Dick like this, and it was scaring him, if he was being honest.

Wally entered, immediately sitting by Dick's side. "Hey man, I made it back as fast as I could, god you look bad." The redhead looked to Jason, who was frozen by the door. 

“She took me to the roof,” Dick said, “I couldn’t stop her Wally,” he repeated, “I heard that gunshot ringing in my ears and I couldn’t move, I couldn’t bring myself to push her away. I didn’t want her to do it but she was already on top of me.”

"Shit," Wally looked him over, noticing the torn parts of his uniform. 

Jason tightened his fists, and felt a wave of anger rising in him. He’d heard this before. Girls and boys coming home at 4 am to Crime Alley crying these same words to their parents, their friends, anyone who would listen.

“She’s never going to lay a hand on you again,' Wally said, “We’re going to find her and I’m going to put her in jail myself.”

Dick tightened up, pressing his face into his knees while Wally kept an arm around him, and Jason leaped forward and hugged him.

“I’m so sorry,” Wally said.

“Don’t tell Barbara,” Dick said, pulling his head up, “or Bruce, or anyone else. Not yet.”

“Dick…” Wally breathed, “You need help. They can help. We can-“

“No, Wally. Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone understand? I couldn’t face them if they knew what I did. That I let him die.”

“But we have to tell them what she did to you,” Jason urged him, “We can’t let her go free, Dick, she could hurt other people.”

“Go after her all you want, but I can't....” He begged, “I can’t deal with that. I can't be pitied right now...”

“Okay,” Jason said, reluctantly, “But you have to say something eventually. We care about you, and they’re going to be really worried.”

“I’ll be fine,” Dick said, “Few days, I’ll be fine. Just don’t leave.”

“I won’t,” Jason said, “I promise.” 

Barbara and Alfred went to Dick’s room to see what was happening, if they were okay, and found the three of them asleep, Dick curled up against Wally's chest, his arms wrapped around Jason like his life depended on it. Barbara left a note for Dick and went back to let her father know she was okay, and Alfred stayed. As the others started coming back from Arkham and Bell Rev and started filing their report. The entire Injustice League had escaped before they arrived, and they only managed to put back who was still escaping when they had arrived. Wally informed them of what had happened in Bludhaven and told them to let Dick and Jason rest. They were going to need all their strength for what was coming for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Injustice League was always something I wanted them to come back to but they didn't so I did it for them, and trust me, what they're up to isn't gonna be pretty.


	5. School of Hard Knocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the confrontation in Bludhaven is taking a harder toll on Dick than anyone would have thought. When Jason's first mission with Artemis takes a turn for the worse, Dick's inner trauma come to light.

 

“Dick? Dick?” A voice hovered over him. Dick opened his eyes to see Wally, inches from his face and staring at him with wide eyes. “Dick wake up, Bruce is here,” he droned.

Dick eased his way out of bed and followed him to the training room. As he walked behind Wally, he noticed a sluggishness that his friend never had before. Something was off. When they entered the room, Dick saw Bruce standing with his back to him, standing over something. Odd lumps on the floor that he couldn’t distinguish. In the time Dick surveyed Bruce and the odd things on the ground, Wally had disappeared.

“Dick,” Bruce said, “Why did you let them die?” he asked.

“What? Bruce, I don’t-“

“You let them die, Dick,” Bruce said, stepping to the side.

Dick looked again at the floor and instead of fuzzy shapes there were bodies. Mangled at Bruce’s feet. All he needed to see was his old Robin costume on a peculiarly smaller body than his own, and flowing bright orange hair on the other and he felt sick to his stomach. He turned around, trying not to throw up and swatting flies from his face when he noticed Wally returned, with M’gann, Artemis, Kaldur, Zatanna and Conner behind him.

“You let us all die Dick. We’re your family, how could you do this Dick?” Wally groaned at him.

Dick’s whole body went taught, and cold, and the last thing that pushed him over the edge was the corpse rising and coming up behind him, draping it’s arms around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I loved you, and you let me die,” it whispered, and Barbara’s perfume filled his senses and a chunk of her hair fell onto his shoulder. He screamed.

“Barbara!”

Dick shot upright, panting. He was in bed at Mount Justice again. He felt his bed sheets, and rubbed his face, making sure it wasn’t still the nightmare.

“Dick?” Jason asked, rubbing his eyes. He sat up straight in the chair he had been sleeping in next to Dick’s bed. “What’s going on?”

“Jason, where’s Barbara?” He asked frantically, holding onto his sheets for dear life in case the nightmare wasn’t over.

“Alfred took her home,” Jason yawned in response, “She called and said her dad grounded her, but she told him about Tarantula.”

“Grounded?”

“Well, she said she wasn’t in trouble, but her dad won’t let her leave the house, he’s too worried about her getting attacked again. She’s tried and failed four times to sneak out already.”

“What about you? Are you okay?” Dick asked.

“M’ fine,” Jason said. He saw the worry in Dick’s eyes and assured him, “So is Babs.”

“Okay.” Dick laid back in bed, still exhausted from that dream and everything else that had happened.

“You’ve been out for two days,” Jason added.

Dick groaned.

“Hey Jaybird, you wanna-“ Wally began, zipping in, “Oh, Dick, you’re awake!”

Dick nodded and yawned again. “What did I miss?”

“A lot,” Wally confessed, “There’s been 2 mass breakouts.”

“Where?!” He asked, jerking back upright, “How many escaped? Where are they? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“Calm down,” Wally demanded, “You were so exhausted you passed out, we couldn’t even wake you up if we wanted to. You were hurt, Dick, badly. We’re handling it. We’ve recaptured a total of 4 inmates in the past two days, but so far they’ve only been released out of circumstance. 2 bombs went off at the exact same time the night Barbara and Jason went to get you, one at Arkham, one at Belle Reve.”

“Who escaped?”

“Well we’ve rounded up some of the villains that only got out on luck, not any grand master plan. We got Killer Croc, Mad Hatter, Mirror Master, and Cheetah. They swear up and down that nobody told them a breakout was happening. We know because of the bombs that it was coordinated, and we managed to find video of certain prisoners. Looks like all the members of the Injustice League that were currently being held at both prisons were unsurprised about the explosion.

“What’s the collateral?” Dick asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Nine escaped at Arkham, Six at Belle Reve, not including those who’ve already been put back into custody,” Jason said.

“Who orchestrated the bombings?”

“No confirmation on Belle Reve, but cameras picked up Harley inside Arkham, rounding up Joker and Poison Ivy. Guards at both prisons claim to have seen ‘freaky lady ninjas’ out of the corner of their eyes, but no confirmed eye to eye sightings.” Wally explained.

“Talia,” Dick concluded, “since she’s the one who’s been hanging around with Harley lately. Probably against her will, too, since Talia is too good for outside help. I’d say Ra’s is pulling the strings.”

“They also said that Quinn grabbed Kirk Langstrom who wasn’t a prisoner, but was undergoing some kind of testing?”

“He’s a scientist. Accidentally turned himself into a giant bat, right?” Jason asked. Dick nodded.

“Bet Gotham went crazy with that one,” Wally mumbled.

“M’gann and Zatanna have been scanning for signs of the strays, but we can assume that Klarion and Ra’s al Ghul have the Injustice League locked down.

“Alright,” Dick said, “Time to get to work.”

“Hold up, you’re still recovering,” Wally warned, nudging him back down into bed.

“No, I’m awake, and I refuse to be put on bed rest. Bruce did that to me enough and it was the most boring moments of my life. At least let me help with surveillance or battle strategy.”

“Since I know you’ll find a way to do it anyways, fine,” Wally said, “But you’re not fighting until we declare you fit for duty.”

“Yes Sir,” Dick sassed, getting out of bed.

The three of them made their way to the training room, where Zatanna was whispering spells to herself and M’gann was sitting cross legged, floating four feet in the air. Artemis and Kaldur were at the computer, while Superboy was playing with Wolf.

“Hey, Dick’s up Guys!” Wally called, and everyone gave him a warm welcome before going back to their tasks.

“Have we gotten Babs in on this?” Dick asked, looking at the monitor.

“No, her dad is keeping her in bed with no computer. ‘She works too much and needs to be left alone’ is what we get every time we try to call.” Artemis said.

“Great,” Dick sighed.

“Jason got us linked to the Batcomputer, which is super useful by the way,” She said, typing away.

“Bruce said it was okay in case of emergency!” Jason explained feverishly when Dick shot him a glare.

“Alright,” Dick said. He paused for a moment to think. Dick at thirteen would have done something like that without even asking Bruce’s permission, he needed to back off of Jason. Who knows what rules have changed since he left.

Jason excused himself, and while the others took little notice, Artemis handed the keyboard off to Kaldur and decided to follow when she saw he wasn’t going to his room or the kitchen. It took a minute to dodge M’gann and Wally, but finally she made it outside, where Jason was sitting cross-legged in the grass, occasional puffs of smoke rising into the air.

“What are you doing?” She asked, wary of the small boy.

Jason whipped around. Artemis narrowed her eyes when she saw the cigarette in his fingers.

“And what are you doing with that?” She added.

“I’m sorry. I came out here because they told me M’gann had sensitive lungs. I won’t do it anymore while I’m here if it bothers you! Just please don’t tell!”

“I won’t, I won’t,” Artemis said almost too quickly, “Does Batman know?” she asked.

Jason shrunk down and pulled his cape around him tighter, “Yeah, Alfred caught me on the roof once and of course he told him. They’re trying to get me off of it, and I want to, but they said it would take time. I’m trying, I really am,”

“I believe you.” Artemis said, sitting next to him, “It’s a tough thing to beat. Why did you start?”

“My mom,” Jason confessed, “She was either high or drunk, and I had to take care of her because she couldn’t do it herself. Made sure she didn’t choke on her own vomit, helped her take baths, the usual. It was so stressful, the whole building noticed. There were some other kids who thought I was pretty upset I guess, and they gave me a pack of these one day and said it would help me calm down and keep concentrated. They were right I guess. They weren’t trying to do anything bad to me, it was just how people on my block helped each other. None of us had money to help each other out, so we traded in stuff. They genuinely thought they were helping me, but Bruce says it’s just a nasty addiction. I guess he’s right, but I still appreciate their gesture. The only people who found it in their hearts to help me were the other kids in the exact same boat with their parents. Thankfully you wouldn’t be caught dead giving the real drugs to kids. Marco down the street got roughed up for doing it. Marney’s dad caught him trying to sell Julie cocaine, and he got the other parents together and they went down and beat him until he cried out a promise to not sell to children again. Drug lords and gang members alike don’t even try to deal to kids on Crime Alley anymore, they know it’s a death wish.”

“You grew up around all that?” Artemis asked, pulling her knees in.

“It wasn’t all bad,” Jason smiled, offering her one of the cookies he had also brought out. “Ms. Laura was addicted to heroin, but she got herself enough time to get her money together and buy art supplies for us. She’d sober up and come out and paint huge murals on the sidewalk with us. Miguel and Susan were nice too, they were the ones with the most money. They were fresh out of school and only had enough to buy the crappy place next to mine but they always had smiles, and gave us food. Susan helped with my mom a lot.“ Jason stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Artemis asked.

“So much has changed,” Jason whispered, “When Bruce adopted me…they were all happy. They were glad that I finally had a chance at something good. But a week after I left, Laura overdosed on a hit that she had her friend set up for her, instead of doing it herself, and Miguel got shot trying to defend Susan from a mugger. I went to check on her and I….I found her in her bedroom… she- she-“ Jason stared at the grass with tears coming out of his eyes.

“Shhh.” Artemis took the cigarette from his hand and put it out before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in.

“It made me realize what Bruce did for me,” Jason cried, “He made sure that wouldn’t be me, dead in some room waiting for someone to find me.”

“You understand now why he cares so much about you?” Artemis asked, “You and Dick didn’t have anybody to help you. He didn’t want you to suffer through what he did, and he didn’t want you to lose yourselves to the awful things that happen to vulnerable people in Gotham.”

“I know,” Jason said, drying his eyes, “I’m glad he chose me to help. I like fighting crime but Bruce’s wallet is what does the real good. You know his fortune should be quadruple what it is, right?”

“Why’s that?” Artemis asked.

“Because he donates so much of his money, his company is growing at half the rate. If he didn’t donate 60 percent of everything that he earns, he’d probably own Gotham by now. Bruce says Dick and I both get some of it every month to work on causes we advocate for. We haven’t talked about it much, but I think Dick gives his money to help renovate schools and help orphanages with their food options so the kids aren’t malnourished. I heard he even bought Haley’s circus and gave Mr. Haley free run of the place so they’d never be in debt again. I’ve gotten everyone I used to know into therapy with Ms. Thompson, and I renovated our old building, but I have a lot more to do still.”

“You…are 13, right?” Artemis questioned, taken slightly aback, “And you’re doing all this? Shouldn’t you be like, doing kid stuff?”

“Yeah, probably. But true kindness comes from the empathetic. Those who have little to give, give the most, because they know what it’s like to have nothing. I think it still applies if you have nothing and suddenly have the world at your fingertips. How can I be selfish when there are still people who are in the same place I was? It’s not fair, honestly.” Jason explained.

“Are you sure you’re 13?”

“Yes,” Jason said, annoyed, “Why is it so surprising? Wasn’t Dick exactly like this?”

“Pffft. No. Dick’s best friend was Wally, so it was nothing but immaturity,” She replied, “He was a like a computer on legs, sure, but he was so…optimistic.”

“I’m not optimistic?” Jason questioned.

“No, no, I mean, I’ve never seen Dick cry. Or express any emotion besides happy or kind of angry, really. Bruce didn’t let him open up to us like he’s letting you. The only person that got to have a meaningful relationship with Dick was Wally.”

“Do you expect me to be him?” Jason asked, “The team, do they expect me to be on Dick’s level because of where we come from, who trained us?”

“Not at all,” Artemis answered, “You’re not him, you’re you. Dick is a tough act to follow, but whether or not you play the same roll, nobody expects either of you to outshine the other. You’re a new teammate, not a new Dick Grayson.”

“Bruce expects a lot of me because Dick is kind of like, the standard, you know? Dick could have done better, Dick would have done this, not that.”

“You’re doing fine Jason,” She said, putting her hands on his shoulders, “You are the light of our lives, and you have so much potential. Don’t let it get you down. We expect a lot of you, but it’s unfair to compare you to Dick. He had a whole history of acrobatics and stunt work before he even became a hero. Remember that. It’s going to take some work, but you’ll get there in your own time.”

There was a hum from the mountain and Artemis tilted her head, listening.

“Is that the alarm?” She asked.

Jason nodded and the pair of them made their way back to the cave.

“What’s going on?” Artemis asked, running to the computer.

“We found Bane,” Dick explained, “A silent alarm came up from Ace Chemicals, I guess that’s where his unknown store of Venom that we’ve been looking for was hiding. We’ve been checking the cameras but he’s not inside, he’s underneath. Broke a hole in the foundation and disappeared into the old city bellow it. We’ve been running sonar tests, and it looks like this section is cut off from the rest of catacombs, so he’s likely still there.”

“Who’s going to get him?” Artemis asked.

“You,” Kaldur answered, “Superboy and Jason are coming with you.”

“Me?” Jason asked.

“Dick is out of commission,” Wally answered, glaring at Dick to add emphasis, “You’ve trained with Batman, and you know the best ways to take down your villains. Superboy can handle his strength, and Artemis has the precision to take him down quickly while he’s destracted.”

“Artemis is in charge,” Dick added to Jason, “Listen to her as if she were Bruce, got it?”

“Yeah,” Jason sighed, “I will.”

“We need to stay here in case of more alerts. If anyone else shows up we can’t all be in Gotham fighting Bane,” Kaldur said, “We’re trusting you three to get this done quickly.”

“Affirmative,” Artemis replied, “Alright, let’s go.”

The three of them left for Gotham via zeta tube, and Dick stared after them even when they were gone.

“He’ll be fine,” Wally said finally, “Artemis knows what she’s doing. She’ll keep him safe.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about.”

 

Jason hung up his call with Alfred just as Superboy had finished scouting the area around Ace.

“Alfie says that the ground is structurally sound, but weak enough in certain areas to take down half the block, so I’m going to go in and mark certain parts of the foundation that you absolutely can’t wreck, okay?” he told them. “Bane is huge, and with enough irritation you can get him to run into about anything, but he’s a huge guy in a fragile place. We gotta make this quick. Focus on his knees, his legs. We have to keep him as immobile as possible. Superboy, that’s your job. Limit his ability to fight.”

“Got it,” Superboy said.

“As you know, the tubes with venom are where you need to hit. That’s Artemis’s job. You’ll need to rip out all the tubes, no venom can be in his system if we have any chance of taking him down for good. The tube to his head is what will drain the fastest.”

“Okay, consider it done,” Artemis said, checking her arrows.

“Dick said you’re in charge, so lead the way, o fearless leader,” Jason said, pointing to Ace Chemicals.

“Superboy, care to give us a lift?” She asked.

He nodded and Artemis held her quiver tight. They were in the air in an instant, floating for a second before Conner brought them down swiftly.

“Why does everybody feel the need to grab me by the cape?” Jason murmured, straightening the black and yellow and rubbing his neck.

“It’s the easiest,” Artemis replied. Jason blushed, and rubbed his neck again.

She loaded an arrow. They stepped inside and made their way to the large whole in the abandoned processing room.

In an instant, Superboy was gone.

“Superboy?” Artemis called, “Superboy?!”

Jason saw a flash of green out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see if he could catch another glimpse, but his cape was yanked and all he saw was the light falling away from him as he fell down backwards through the hole. He noticed the bright yellow hair flitting in and out of his vision. Whatever it was grabbed Artemis too.

“Ambush!” She yelled to him. She loosed an arrow behind them and someone grunted as they got a face full of ice. They hit the ground, and Artemis grabbed Jason by the ankle and pulled him as hard as she could. Jason saw a fist where his head was about two seconds ago.

“Thanks for not grabbing the cape,” Jason commented.

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

“Welcome my little friends,” Bane said, standing up. He cracked his knuckles and released the venom into his blood with a press of a button, “This will be fun.”

The pair of them did their best to avoid Bane as he smashed through pillars to get them. Jason pulled out his spray can and spritzed the concrete as he ran. It was all they could do just to outrun him, let alone get Artemis enough time to concentrate on a decent shot. She was firing left and right, hitting him, but not the chords of green liquid.

“Artemis, should we give him some freezer burn?” Jason asked, pulling the ice pellets out of his belt. She nodded. He flipped around, hurling the pellets while Artemis loosed an exploding arrow. Bane paused, throwing his arms up. Jason slipped, not seeing the puddles while he ran backwards. He hit the ground and his open belt pocket exploded into a mess of gadgets strewn everywhere.

“Robin!” Artemis shot again at Bane before sliding and wrapping an arm around Jason’s waist. They slid down a dip and she hauled him back up to his feet. “Careful,” she warned.

“Where is Superboy?” Jason whined.

There was a crash and suddenly next to them was said Superboy in a heap.

“Lex loaned me a few toys that work great on Kryptonians,” A woman said, coming into view on Bane’s shoulder. She held up a sword that glittered green ever so slightly.

“Jade.” Artemis pulled Jason behind her and grabbed another arrow.

“Now now, is there really need to get physical?”

“Yes, there is,” Artemis replied, tensing and raising her bow. At the last second she switched targets and loosed the arrow. Bane yelped in surprise when a tube burst.

Cheshire hurled herself at Artemis, who shoved Jason out of the way. Artemis squirmed under her sister, but found that she was gone almost as quickly as she came. Jason helped her to her feet and saw Jade go flying across the room.

“Get Bane,” Superboy groaned at them, “I can’t fight him like this, but I can keep her off of you.”

Artemis nodded. Jason looked between the two. Superboy trying and failing against Cheshire’s kryptonite laced sword, and Artemis taking on Bane who was a good ten times her size.

Jason hurled smoke in both directions and went to tackle Cheshire, but she was gone.

“You’re not the only one who hides in smoke, little bird,” She hissed.

“No, but how good can you see without your mask?” Jason asked, slashing at her face with a batarang. He took the opportunity to grab at her belt and take the sword. After that he just ran, trying to find a place to throw it away. Cheshire went after him but Superboy got up again.

Jason took the sword to his knee and snapped it, thanking Bruce for the reinforced plating in his suit. He chucked one half into the underground river, and the other back up into the main floor of Ace.

There was a yell of surprise and Jason put his attention back onto the fight. Cheshire and Superboy were gone again, but Bane had both hands around Artemis. Bane tightened his grip on her when he noticed Robin watching, and Artemis squirmed.

“Robin, get out of here!” She urged him. “We can take them, go get backup!”

But Jason didn’t listen. He reached into what was left of his belt and shot his grappling hook at Bane, pulling his head down and launching Jason straight at him. He ripped the batarang out of his belt and started slashing as soon as he made contact.

“Let her go!” Jason hollered, jumping on his back and pulling on wires.

“Get off of me!” Bane yelled back. He reached up behind him and grabbed Robin, loosening his grip on Artemis just long enough for her to grab at Robin’s discarded tools.

“Come on, come on,” She strained. Bane slammed Robin into a pillar and he slumped to the floor in a pile.

“No, no, no.” Artemis clenched her eyes shut, hoping with every part of her that he was okay. She wiggled in Bane’s grip until she could face his wires. She pressed the button on the taser she picked up, jamming it into the tube on Bane’s arm. Electricity exploded throughout the liquid, sending him into spasms and releasing her.

“Robin,” She breathed, scrambling towards him.

“GAAAH,” Bane screamed. He swung wildly, knocking Jason off of the broken ledge and down further into the abandoned building.

“NO!” Artemis flung herself over and reached for the smaller body as they fell. His cape snagged on a rebar, slowing him just enough for her to grab him. She stuck her bow up and extended it. It caught on rocks as they fell, slowing them further and further, but they weren’t stopping. She curled herself around him and muttered an apology. Thankfully her bow caught on something feet from the ground, but it snapped and they soon hit the concrete with a crack.

 

Minutes later, Jason rose. “Artemis?” He asked. He hissed with pain and grabbed his side. ‘ _Who needs ribs anyway?’_ he thought. He pushed himself up, but as he shuffled, he noticed Artemis was underneath him. “Artemis!” He gasped.

She moaned, not opening her eyes.

“Oh no, oh no, are you okay?” He yanked on the side of his glove and the little sensor popped out. He hovered it over her and felt like crying. “Please be okay, please be okay!” He begged. He breathed in relief when the scan showed that she had a few broken bones, but she wasn’t in mortal danger. Her suit was reinforced in specific places, but she was going to have a hell of a backache with the way her costume was designed.

“She’s okay,” Jason sighed in relief. “Artemis? Can you hear me?” He tried to stand, but noticed the searing pain in his foot. “Ankle, why?” he whined.

“There you are!” A call came from above. Superboy lowered himself down into the pit.

“Superboy! Where’s Cheshire and Bane?” Jason asked, standing up on his good leg, pulling Artemis up with him and supporting her on his shoulder.

“Cheshire got away, but thanks you to and Artemis, I had just enough left in me to take Bane out. He’s upstairs wrapped in about 10 steel bars. What happened to you guys?”

“I don’t know. Bane was about to pop her like a balloon, but I got his tubing and he let her go? I woke up on top of her, I think she broke my fall. She’s really hurt, we have to get her to Alfred.”

“Done. How do I get to the Batcave?” Superboy asked.

“No,” Jason said, a hitch in his breath when he put pressure on his foot, “Just get us to the surface.”

“Got it.”

Jason pressed a code into the undamaged part of his glove. As Superboy reached the surface with Artemis and Robin, a plane was already waiting for them.

“I’ll take her to the cave, can you take Bane back to Arkham and then go back to Happy Harbor to get Dick and Wally?”

Superboy nodded, diving back into Ace to get their catch.

Jason bit his lip, working through the pain like Bruce taught him and loaded Artemis into the co-pilot’s chair. He got in himself and phoned Alfred to prep the med bay. He engaged the autopilot and waited. As they flew over the city, he saw Superboy’s black and red flash as he took Bane back and left.

“Dick’s gonna kill me,” Jason groaned, taping his ankle. He curled up in his seat when he was done and rested his head against the glass. He watched Wayne Manor come into view and wanted nothing more than to crawl down into a hole and never come out. “My first real mission and I almost get a teammate killed.”

The jet landed and Jason hopped out. He forgot about his ankle and tripped over his own feet.

“Master Jason!” Alfred exclaimed, running from the computer where Dick’s video call was displayed. Jason took note of the displeasure on Dick’s face and buried his face in Alfred’s ever-pristine jacket.

“I’m okay Alfie. Help Artemis please.”

“She's in good hands Master Jason don't you worry.”

 

By the time Artemis was on Alfred’s table, Jason had crawled over to Bruce’s chair and wrapped himself up in a blanket, talking to M’gann. Dick had long since left the chat, heading for Gotham to speak in person, but Jason knew he was in trouble. Dick never looked so mad before.

“And that’s how you beat a Gordanian in a game of hide and seek,” M’gann finished her half-hour long discussion just when the upstairs door slammed, and two pairs of feet came rushing down.

“Artemis!” Wally called, running to Alfred who quickly handed him his diagnosis. Dick paused to look at Artemis, who already had bruises, before turning towards his brother.

“I didn’t know she would jump after me,” Jason explained, quieter than a mouse.

“You’re lucky she did, and you’re lucky that you aren’t dead.” Dick said. His tone got harder than diamond, and Jason knew he wasn’t there to be angry with him, he was there to be disappointed. Dick was more like Bruce than he would ever know. Jason hated these conversations. He’d rather they yell and get over it, but that’s never how it goes.

“What did you do wrong?” Dick asked. It was same question that Bruce always started with.

“I let him get his hands on me. I should have dodged,” Jason replied.

“No.” Dick answered. Jason was surprised. With Bruce he never got that question wrong. Even if it wasn’t the mistake that Bruce intended for him to say, he would always agree that it was a mistake.

“I,” Jason faltered, “I helped Artemis with Bane when Cheshire was the bigger fish to fry? I helped Artemis when helping Superboy would have gotten both Cheshire and Bane?”

“Wrong,” Dick’s voice was cold.

“I-I don’t know. What did I do wrong?” Jason shrunk down.

“You disobeyed my order, Jason. What did I tell you? Listen to Artemis like she was Bruce. She told you to leave them behind and come get backup, and you ran back to the fight.”

“He was going to kill her!” Jason protested.

“You’re lucky the stunt you pulled didn’t get you _both_ killed!” Dick hollered, “What is Bruce’s one rule, Jason, his one rule!!”

“Follow his orders.”

“If Bruce was on the down side of a fight and he told you to leave him behind and get yourself to safety even if it meant Bruce would die, he would expect you to do as he said!”

“You would have done the same thing,” Jason shot back, “You’re always saving Bruce! You would do anything for your teammates; I don’t understand what your problem is! You honestly expect me to have listened to her and just left?! Is there something wrong with you today? You always complain to me about how Bruce always gets under your skin and treats you like a child and you’re doing the exact same thing to me! What did I ever _do_ to you?!”

“I could have lost you!” Dick burst out. Jason blinked up at him, tears in the corners of his eyes. Dick took a minute to process he let out.

“You could have lost me, but Wally could have lost Artemis,” Jason said, “I don’t care what Bruce says, or what you say. They mean something to me too, Dick. I could have lost you and Barbara last week in Bludhaven, but I was there, and I helped you. I’m not going to let people die because of some dumb rule that says I have to save myself first. You get that, right?” Jason asked, “Dick, say something.”

Dick didn’t speak in favor of hugging him. He stiffened suddenly.

“Dick?”

“I let my family die,” Dick whispered out of surprise.

“What? Dick what are you-“

“My nightmare last night,” Dick explained, “Bruce, he said I let my family die. I got worked up over something so insignificant, Jason, I’m sorry. After Barbara, I'm freaking out. I'm honestly feeling like I'm loosing it, and every little thing is going to set me off but I need you to bear with me. Artemis’s life is important to me just as much as it is to Wally, or her mother. I got scared. I’ve never had a little brother before and it’s getting to my head. It's all just getting to me, I can’t explain it. You did the right thing, Jason. You're right, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jason said, “Just remember than I’m not the only family you have. I’m just the new kid. They’re still your real family.”

Dick nodded, and Jason’s stomach dropped. It was what Dick needed to hear but it killed Jason to say it. He’d known Dick for the better part of 3 whole months, and they were already inseparable and yet Jason meant nowhere near what the Team meant to Dick. Jason knew somehow Dick was lying to himself. It was his fear of getting Jason killed and explaining it to Bruce when he got back. Dick had been through a lot in the past week, and after the awful things Tarantula did to him and Babs, he didn't blame him for feeling like Jason stubbing his toe could kill him. It was just Dick getting worked up, Jason rationalized. 

But he couldn't help but feel like this was only the beginning, and he hated not knowing what was coming for him.

**Author's Note:**

> An idea I came up with when I realized we probably won't ever get to see Jason's years as Robin. This one is a little slow I guess but it's definitely going to pick up as we keep going. Loads of action awaits.


End file.
